Flow is a blockchain created by Dapper Labs to address blockchain congestion problems and enable extensive scaling without the use of sharding techniques. It is designed specifically for games and other interactive experiences, making it ideal for dapps such as NFT marketplaces and crypto-infused video games. Flow uses a proof of stake consensus mechanism that requires validators to stake a certain number of FLOW tokens to participate in the network. However, what sets Flow apart from other blockchains is its unique approach to validation. Flow splits validation tasks into four separate types of nodes: consensus, verification, execution, and collection. All four node types participate in the validation of each transaction, ensuring that transactions are fast and low-cost. Flow has already been implemented in Dapper Labs' NBA Top Shot, but is open to other developers as well. The potential for blockchain-driven collectibles experiences to generate huge sums of cash and mainstream attention is significant, making Flow an exciting prospect for the future.

The Flow blockchain hackathon is focused on driving innovation for mainstream adoption of Web3. From its inception, Flow has been designed to onboard mainstream consumers with its unique multi-node architecture and developer-friendly smart contract programming language, Cadence. This has attracted big brands and leagues such as Mattel, NBA, NFL, Ticketmaster, and LaLiga, among others. The popular Doodles franchise recently chose to expand its community to Flow, taking advantage of its easy onboarding, scalability, and composability to integrate dynamic identity into its Doodles 2 collectibles.

This hackathon is a great opportunity for developers, regardless of their experience with Flow. There will be education and onboarding opportunities available from February 10 to February 20 to get participants up to speed. The submission period for the hackathon will take place from February 21 to February 26, with an awards ceremony to follow after the judges have reviewed all submissions, which should take approximately 2-3 weeks. This event offers an exciting platform for developers to showcase their skills and demonstrate the potential of Flow for mainstream Web3 adoption.

Note: All new contract data is regarding contracts created in the last 30 days